More than 200 children are being treated in hospital with lead poisoning in north-west China after school chefs used inedible paint to decorate their food.
Eight people have been arrested after tests showed the food samples from a kindergarten in Tianshui City in Gansu province had lead levels that were 2,000 times over the national safety limit.
In total, 233 children from Peixin Kindergarten had high levels of lead in their blood after eating steamed red date cake and sausage corn bun.
Slightly less related, but what modern day paint has lead in it?
One that costs 5 cents less than the others
You’d be surpised by how many countries do not have a lead paint ban. Though China is one of them that does.
It’s also a country where manufacturers do whatever the fuck they want until they get caught. Then they bribe the local officials.
Like the US you mean?
Sometimes I feel like you guys think there’s two countries on earth and they have to be compared at every single turn
If we’re going to ignore the degree of the issue, then I guess the PRC is just like every other country in the world.
Road signs, like Stop signs, Yield signs. They all use lead as a primary ingredient, I think Chromium is the other metal they use. It’s durable and the Matte-Metallic finish makes the sign easy to read in all lightings. You can still get lead as an additive to oil-based paints, but it’s heavily restricted. You’d have to have a specific use case to import it, it’s called flake white. Metal additives change the texture and reflective properties of the paint, lead is mostly swapped out for zinc and titanium now though.
My first thought: wow, the PPE for the people making road signs must be so involved!
My second thought: unfortunately, probably not at all.
White house paint still had lead in it in Australia, just at much lower levels than before the ban